Four officers were injured during the melee Thursday morning.

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Hamden police broke up a riot on Thursday morning near the campus of Southern Connecticut State University.

A security guard called officers to report that a large group was gathering in a courtyard.

When police arrived, they found about 500 people in the courtyard and most of them appeared to be drunk, police said.

As officers approached the crowd, people began shouting expletives about the police and began throwing bottles at the officers.

Several fights broke out among the crowd and the officers moved in, according to police. A police officer who tried to break up one of the altercations was punched in the face amd his nose was broken. Officers arrested Ivan Santiago and charged him with assaulting the officer.

A second officer was injured while trying to pull a person off a victim being beaten while lying on the ground. The officer was treated for an arm injury at the hospital. The suspect, Evan Marlow, was taken into custody.

Police also arrested Victor Moreno, who police said was swinging a golf club at the officers. As Moreno was handcuffed, the officers came to the aid of two other officers who were being attacked, and Moreno was able to escape while still in handcuffs. He was found at his fraternity house and arrested a short time later.

In all, four officers were injured.

The three suspects face a variety of charges, including inciting a riot. All three were held on $50,000 bond.